Hair Restoration Surgery on the Rise

Survey Finds Worldwide Growth

International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery
January 7, 2014

Good hair never goes out of style in any corner of the world, and results released of a new member survey conducted by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) shows men and women are going to great lengths on a global scale to restore hair loss.

Since the ISHRS began tracking trends in hair restoration with its first Practice Census member survey in 2005, the extrapolated worldwide volume of surgical hair restoration procedures performed from 2004 to 2012 jumped 85%. The largest gains were reported in Asia and the Middle East.

"Hair is universally viewed as a sign of youth and vitality, which is why hair loss at any age can have a significant impact on a person's overall quality of life," said Vincenzo Gambino, MD (Milan, Italy), president of the ISHRS. "To combat hair loss, more men and women are turning to hair restoration surgery - especially those in their 30s and 40s - because the results are permanent, natural-looking and virtually undetectable."

Despite weak economic growth in many areas of the world in 2012, the demand for hair restoration increased slightly overall from 2010 to 2012 with a few exceptions. The extrapolated worldwide number of surgical hair restoration procedures performed in 2012 was approximately 310,624, up 10% from 2010. For the first time since the Practice Census was administered, Asia topped the list as the region with the most procedures performed - 102,702 hair restoration procedures in 2012, representing a 10% increase from 2010.

Other notable trends and facts from the ISHRS 2013 Practice Census survey include:

In 2012, 86.3% of all hair restoration surgical patients worldwide were male and 13.7% were female.

In 2012, more than half of both male and female surgical patients worldwide fell between the ages of 30 to 49 years old, 59.6% and 55.9%, respectively.

Of the estimated 310,624 hair restoration procedures performed worldwide in 2012, Europe experienced the biggest increase in the number of procedures with 54,343 procedures performed in 2012 (a 39% increase from 2010).

From 2010 to 2012, hair restoration procedures performed on the eyebrow and face (moustache/beard) increased 13.1%.